Look on the Monthly Magazine and the
News & Events pages to find out what is going
on in each parish. There you will find listings of forthcoming events as well as reports and photographs of past events as sent in by our
intrepid reporter Ivan Thompson.

Children's page Banana Club News is now online !
New: Oulton Quilt Raffle

Recent events:
Pyramid Rock Holiday Club
BBQ to welcome to Peter Chapman
Oulton Box Day June 2008
Oulton Box Day Service June 2008
RAF Oulton Reunion May 2008
Doing Church Differently in Wickmere
Wickmere Church Restoration
Itteringham May Fayre

‘Don’t need a shield,’ he said, ‘You see that big wicker basket over there? You bring that!’ ‘What amI bringing that for?’ I said. ‘That’s to put his head in after I cut it off!’ said David, ‘Now, when we get out there, I need to get within at least a hundred feet of him, so I’m going to talk and shout a lot, because I want him to think I’m a braggarty loudmouth!’ ‘You are a braggarty loudmouth,’ I said. ‘I know that, and you know that, but he’s got to know it too.’

David strode out in front of the Israelites, for about thirty yards, and halted, leaning nonchalantly on his staff. I stood a few feet behind him, holding the basket, but ready to run. Goliath came forward with his
shield-bearer; and stopped about two hundred feet away. He peered at the youth, and let out a great scornful laugh. ‘What is this! Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? What does your basket-bearer keep in there? Nappies for when you wet yourself? Come closer, little boy, and I’ll smear you all over the plain, as tit-bits for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!’

‘You come over here!’ said David, ‘Man, they said you was ugly; and they weren’t kiddin’.You’re not going to be smearing nobody, you big ugly bear, cos’you gotta catch me first. I’m so fast and I’m so pretty. I’m so fast that I’m gonna cut your beard off before you get your sword out of your sheath, and I’m so pretty when you look at me it’s like you got the sun in your eyes and can’t see nothin’ – only it’ll be me - the light of my countenance will be shining on you. And I don’t need no armour, or greaves, or bronze helmet, or great sword and javelin, no beard, or eight feet tall, or nothin!, because I’ve got the
armour of the Living God to protect me!’

Goliath was growing angrier by the second at the taunts of this tiny upstart, and began to advance swiftly upon him. ‘Come on, come closer, you big ugly bear!’ said David, ‘You’re way too ugly and too old to be a champion! Champions need to be young and pretty like me! And it ain’t no good you swinging your mighty sword; I’m so fast the only thing it will be biting is thin air, cos’ I’ll be over here, and the big ugly bear will be over there, chasing nothing but shadows.’

Goliath un-slung his javelin, and made as if to throw. They were about one hundred and ten feet apart. David rushed forward, feeling for a stone in his pouch. Four, three two one; one hundred, ninety nine.As Goliath loosed his javelin David ran forward under it, fitting the stone to his sling. The javelin speared the earth, missing me by less than six feet.Goliath drew his gleaming sword and advanced swiftly. David swung the sling gently in his hand, breathed out and slung. The stone hit Goliath squarely in the middle of his forehead, and he fell face down in the dust, about six feet from where David was standing.

David took Goliath’s sword from his dead hand, and cut off his head, which he put in my basket. David looked at me. ‘Alright, alright!’ I said, ‘Yes, you did it, and no, I didn’t think you would; but you did it; and yes, being mouthy is not always a bad thing, but don’t try it no more than once. But if you think everyone’s going to think you’re a hero now, you’ve got another think coming, starting with King Saul.’

‘Won’t he think I’m a hero?’ said David. ‘Well, he might for a little while, but he’s much more likely to see you as a rival,’I said. But that’s another story….

Stephen Morgan (Rector)
August 2008